ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

POP/ROCK

‘Inappropriate Endorsement’: Calling it a “betrayal of everything that every Puerto Rican should stand for,� songwriter-producer Robi Draco Rosa lashed out Friday at longtime friend and collaborator Ricky Martin for agreeing to perform “La Copa de La Vida� (“The Cup of Life�) at inaugural festivities for President-elect George W. Bush. Rosa, who wrote “La Copa� as well as the Martin smash “Livin’ La Vida Loca,� said he views the performance, scheduled for Thursday, as an inappropriate endorsement of Bush’s politics. “This is a very partisan act,� said Rosa, a four-time Grammy nominee. “This is a president who would have people in his Cabinet who would obstruct the exercise of civil rights, human rights, consumer rights, the right to choose, the right to be free of gun violence and the right to a clean environment.� Martin, a childhood friend of Rosa’s, had no immediate comment on his collaborator’s criticisms.

TELEVISION

Clarifying Chaos: Nickelodeon will provide children with an overview of the recent presidential election in “Nick News Special Edition: What Was That About? The Weird (But True) Story of Election 2000.� Hosted by Linda Ellerbee and CBS News anchor Dan Rather, it will be seen Sunday at 8:30 p.m. and will address questions about the accuracy and fairness of the political process. “Nickelodeon’s ‘Kids Vote’ National Poll correctly predicted election results for the fourth time in a row but, considering what happened after election day, we felt we needed to begin to put these events into perspective,� Ellerbee said.

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Fox Fallout: A Fox television affiliate in Raleigh, N.C., has decided to drop the network’s new “reality� series “Temptation Island� after learning that one of the couples being enticed to break up on the show has a child, Fox officials said Friday. The decision by WRAZ-TV and its parent company, Capitol Communications, marks the sharpest rebuke so far of a program lambasted by media critics as a televised orchestration of infidelity for the sake of ratings. “WRAZ will not support a program that could potentially break up the parents of a young child,� Tommy Schenck, the general manager of WRAZ, said in a statement issued by the station. Fox officials said participation in the show was off-limits to couples with children and the pair were booted off the island as soon as their secret was exposed. They said they knew of no other affiliates that plan to drop “Temptation Island,� which premiered Wednesday to fairly strong ratings.

THE ARTS

Bailing Out: Luciano Pavarotti and other celebrity patrons have resigned from the high-profile overseas aid charity War Child UK because of charges that co-founder Bill Leeson and consultant Mike Terry had taken a bribe from contractors building a music center named after Pavarotti in Bosnia. The tenor has raised more than $10 million for the group, which helps children rebuild their lives in war-torn countries. Other patrons who left, according to the Guardian and Britain’s Channel 4 News, include playwright Tom Stoppard, pop star David Bowie and Royal Shakespeare Company actress Juliet Stevenson. An investigation also turned up evidence of excessive administrative spending and unnecessary trips abroad. Leeson said in defense of the controversial transaction: “It was a totally legitimate business gift--a small consolation for the price I have paid financially and emotionally and probably physically for the past four years.�

QUICK TAKES

Kim Basinger has filed for divorce from Alec Baldwin, citing irreconcilable differences. They were married Aug. 19, 1993 and separated Dec. 5 last year, according to court documents. They have a 5-year-old daughter. . . . After negotiations with Charles S. Dutton fell through, producers of August Wilson’s “King Hedley II� have signed Tony Award-winner (“Kiss Me Kate�) Brian Stokes Mitchell to play the title role on Broadway. . . . Opera conductor Sarah Caldwell, 76, founder of the Boston Opera Company, was listed in stable condition Friday at the Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville, Ark. Details of her ailment were not disclosed. . . . For the first time, the National Cultural Foundation’s annual Los Angeles “Kingdom Day Parade� will be broadcast on KNBC-TV Monday from 11 a.m to 2 p.m. . . . Actor Alfred Molina will answer questions after a 7 p.m. screening of the film “Chocolat� at the Museum of Tolerance Sunday. Tickets: $6.